Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act | F19AS00201

Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00201

The Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act opportunity is a federal grant program run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, under the Boating Infrastructure Grants (BIG) Program created by the Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-178) and codified at 16 U.S.C. 777g-1. It was established in response to the scale of recreational boating in the United States, where there are roughly 11 million registered motorboats and an estimated 578,000 vessels that are 26 feet or longer. The program is supported through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund as part of the broader Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act framework (16 U.S.C. 777), which the 1998 law amended and which has been reauthorized to continue funding BIG.

The core purpose of the grant is to help build out and improve facilities that serve transient recreational boaters operating larger vessels (at least 26 feet long) that are used primarily for pleasure, including boats that are operated, leased, rented, or chartered. Funding is intended specifically for the construction, renovation, and maintenance of boating infrastructure that makes it possible for these larger traveling boats to safely and practically stop at marinas and similar facilities while moving through an area. In this program, "boating infrastructure" is defined broadly and can include the kinds of structures, equipment, accessories, and services that are necessary or desirable to accommodate eligible vessels. A key concept is that the facilities must serve "transient" boats, meaning vessels that are passing through or by a location and staying no more than 15 days.

This particular announcement is the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Fiscal Year 2020 BIG Tier 1 State grants. Tier 1 is structured as a state-oriented grant opportunity rather than a national competition under Tier 2, and the Tier 2 National grants are explicitly noted as a separate posting on Grants.gov under a different opportunity number (F19AS00202). Projects funded through BIG must provide public access, which means the benefits are intended to be available to the public rather than restricted to a closed membership, even though the facilities themselves may be either publicly owned or privately owned.

Eligibility for this Tier 1 opportunity is limited to state governments, with "States" defined to include all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary and uses a grant funding instrument. The listed funding activity categories include community development, environment, and natural resources, and the CFDA (assistance listing) number associated with the program is 15.622.

For the specific FY 2020 Tier 1 notice provided, the opportunity number is F19AS00201, the NOFO was created on May 31, 2019, and the original application closing date was September 16, 2019. The closing date was set to allow submissions prior to an FBMS (Financial and Business Management System) blackout period and to provide applicants about 109 days to review the NOFO, develop proposals, and submit applications. The award ceiling is listed as $200,000. The notice lists "ExpectedAwards: 0," which typically reflects how the posting was configured in the source system rather than a definitive statement that no awards will be made, but the document itself does not provide additional clarification beyond that field.

In practical terms, this grant opportunity is aimed at improving the network of places where larger recreational vessels traveling from place to place can dock and access needed amenities in a way that supports safe and convenient boating. By focusing on transient use (up to 15 days) and requiring public access, the program is designed to expand and enhance infrastructure that benefits the broader boating public, while still allowing either public entities or private marina operators to own and operate the facilities supported by the grant.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the community development, environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Sportfishing and Boating Safety Act" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.622.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 31, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 16, 2019 This due date allows applications to be received prior to the FBMS blackout period. It allows State applicants 109 days to review the NOFO, prepare their application(s) and submit them.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments.

Apply for F19AS00201

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